When you are publically performing or selling a song now a specific code is needed for each song so it can be digitally track and ultimately  used to help artist get their shared portion of royalties,my question comes in terms of using this code at the mastering stage..

For those that master, I know that you guys probably already have your own code; ISRC (Ireland) I think its ISWC for US?? Are these codes embedded within the audio at the render stage or is it just a number tied to that particular song through digital stores such as itunes. If it is embedded, can  anyone advise how? Can Sonar do it? besides mp3 option there doesnt appear to be any place to embed it in .wav or .aif? 

Cian

I don't embed it in the wav file, but I do enter it in Nero when I burn audio CD's.

And, its ISRC in the US, too

These days, if the product is going to be collecting money at any stage, you should use ISRC identifiers for each track. I embed them on the CD using CD Architect as my mastering tool: this acts as a form of copyrighting if nothing else. If the ownership of the material is ever disputed, the IRSC codes can be extracted from the CD.

If you are uploading to iTunes etc via a distributor like The Orchard/IODA, ISRC and bar codes will be required at the upload stage or the sites (iTunes, Amazon etc) will not accept the material. If you are shipping physical product to the distributor, then the codes can be provided on a tracksheet, but will be required.

David


BTW, be aware that if the product is for download via, say, iTunes and for physical retail in, say, Ireland, the bar code starting with "8" that iTunes will accept may not be acceptable for retail in Ireland. In my country, it needs to start with "9". However, your online distributor (and hence iTunes etc), will probably accept either. So you should check that out.

Thanks for the details guys.

Dont have CD Architect and not sure if i have Nero, but from what I gather the ISRC is not embedded with the audio as such, but ripped with the CD.

Regards,

Cian

Yea, ISRC codes are encoded onto the CD itself and not the audio file

Cj

You need sony cd architect to do the coding as mentioned early.

CD Arch encoded it onto the CD itself, not the actual wave file. as wawe files and AIFF files cannot be encoded. Only MP3's can be encoded with ISRC codes

Can Sonar do it? besides mp3 option there doesnt appear to be any place to embed it in .wav or .aif?  

Sonar is not a 'Mastering' program

CJ

whack


When you are publically performing or selling a song now a specific code is needed for each song so it can be digitally track and ultimately  used to help artist get their shared portion of royalties,my question comes in terms of using this code at the mastering stage..

For those that master, I know that you guys probably already have your own code; ISRC (Ireland) I think its ISWC for US?? Are these codes embedded within the audio at the render stage or is it just a number tied to that particular song through digital stores such as itunes. If it is embedded, can  anyone advise how? Can Sonar do it? besides mp3 option there doesnt appear to be any place to embed it in .wav or .aif? 

Cian

Hi Cian,
 
No, Sonar can't do it. Here's how it works. It's up to each artist to apply for their own codes. They used to be free when you signed up for them, but now I believe there is a $70 fee or something. But once you pay for them, you never pay again. Even though I have my own ISRC codes, (yes it's ISRC here in the USA) being an ME, I can't use those codes on any client material or I would be registering their material as mine via publishing.
 
When the codes are presented, we embed them at the final stage of the mastering procedure. For this to be in effect though, it needs to be handled at the publishing stage and logged there. For example, just because you have an ISRC code, doesn't mean you make money on airplay. The songs and codes have to be registered via publishing in order for the payment to be recognized and sent to the right place, understand? All this info will be available from your publishing company. If you don't have one, definitely look into it as it's the only way you'll be paid CORRECTLY.
 
Now keep in mind, when we embed the codes on a CD audio disc, this doesn't mean if someone rips a wave or rips an mp3 that the code will show up. Those codes are written to CD audio format. Anything that comes off of a CD will need to be re-coded. For example, if you turn your wave files into mp3's to be put on iTunes or something, you'll need to supply the codes for each one.
 
There have been claims of programs being able to read ISRC's from wave files, but to this day, I've not seen it. I know CDA by Sony can read CD's that have codes embedded, but again, this is due to the CD's being written in CD audio format where the text is embedded at the CD creation stage. So I've never ripped a wave or mp3 and saw an ISRC code in its properties. That's not to say it's not possible, I just haven't seen it on my end.
 
Also, and this is another thing to keep in mind. Though we ME's all have CD writers that can write text, we always have to supply a PQ sheet to the manufacturer that also has the ISRC codes, UPC (for US) EAN (for Europe) codes (which are product catalog number codes) as well as all start times, pauses and full run time. The CD manufacturer has ways of embedding text that we do not. For example, some media players do not see written text.
 
Windows media player will not see any text I write to CD's ever, yet Winamp does. Once the manfucturer gets the CD's I've mastered and I play it through Win media, the information appears. This may have something to do with Grace Note or something....I have no clue, but you always should supply all information and never trust "write text to disc" as your only means of information. The masters I have of my own album from Bob Kats do not show any of my song titles or my ISRC codes, yet his PQ sheets have all the information and I know Bob's burners all write text. The manufacturer copies all read, so it's definitely something they do on their end that finalizes everything.
 
Anyway, sorry to get off track a bit there, but I just wanted you to know of the other things to be concerened with. Don't worry about the UPC/EAN stuff as that usually comes from a record label as your unique number that identifies a CD as "yours" in the catalog. Hope this helps.
 
-Danny

Danny for President         (Your Republican, right?)

Thanks guys. Although CJ why isnt sonar a mastering program?? What do the pro-pro's use then?

Danny, I hoped you might chime in since I know you'd know how it works! I got an ISRC code for a song (for free actually from the Irish organisation) and can give it to a publisher. So I guess that is the "official" and safest way of registering a code and that having them embedded to file is merely superficial as it doesnt mean you actually will get payed. I was also enquiring about a catalogue number, but I guess I dont have that as I'm not part of a label right?